The global economy loses more than $423 billion every year to invasive species which threaten nature, food security, and human health.

A new report by the International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) shows that invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity, healthy ecosystems, and sustainable communities. Aimed at policymakers around the world, the report explains how invasive species threaten the quality of life and cultural identities of human communities. 

“Invasive alien species … can cause irreversible damage to nature, including local and global species extinctions, and also threaten human wellbeing.”

Helen Roy, assessment co-chair

Islands receive unique attention in the report: both for the impact invasive species have on them and for the success rate of invasive species eradication projects. Species extinctions due to invasive animals and plants on islands are especially damaging, since islands are biodiversity hotspots and many native species that live on them can be found nowhere else in the world.

Key Takeaways

• 90% of global extinctions on islands are mainly attributed to invasive alien species 
• 1,550 invasive species eradication programs conducted on 998 islands around the world show an 88% success rate 
• >2,300 invasive species have been documented on lands managed, used and/or owned by Indigenous Peoples 
• Invasive species destroy habitats by changing the environment and interacting negatively with climate change and diseases 
• Invasive species threaten indigenous peoples and communities most vulnerable to environmental risks 
• Investment in the management of invasive species is key to mitigating their worst effects 

The Most Comprehensive Report on Invasive Species to Date

The report represents the cumulative work of 86 experts from 49 countries over four and a half years. It is the most comprehensive assessment of invasive species ever carried out, and its global scope includes the voices of indigenous people and local communities. As a result, it gives us the most complete picture of the impacts of invasive species have on people and nature—especially those for whom a healthy ecosystem is essential to their way of life. 

Invasive species, the report argues, have an extremely detrimental effect on the lifeways and cultural identities of indigenous people and other vulnerable groups who rely on sustainable relationships with their natural environments.

85% of the documented impacts of invasive species are negative for people’s quality of life. The report gives the examples of malaria, Zika, and West Nile Fever, diseases spread by invasive species. Negative environmental effects also compound upon one another—for example, the report mentions invasive plants that can interact with rising temperatures to make wildfires more frequent and intense. 

Collaborating on Local Solutions to Global Problems

There is hope, though. The report highlights data indicating that islands are exceptionally effective points of intervention. While they may be more vulnerable to extinctions caused by invasive species, they also enjoy a higher success rate from projects to eradicate them and are able to recover. With their terrestrial ecosystems surrounded by water, removing an invasive species from an island can be permanent, as long as good biosecurity protocols (checking boats and gear for invasive species) remain in place. 

“[T]hese are risks and challenges with global roots but very local impacts, facing people in every country, from all backgrounds and in every community.”

Anibal Pauchard, assessment co-chair

The report expounds on the importance of widespread cooperation between stakeholders, governments, indigenous peoples, and local communities to tackle the invasive species problem. After almost 30 years of restoring islands, we at Island Conservation have seen the multiple spillover effects of successful partnerships, motivating our launch of the Island-Ocean Connection Challenge to restore and rewild islands around the world. An island free from invasive species will circulate richer nutrients into its surrounding waters, which in turn become a safer home for corals and fish—boosting the sustainability of local fishers’ livelihoods. Similarly, island communities who rely on native species for survival—such as the copra harvesters on Nadikdik in the Marshall Islands—see their livelihoods threatened by invasive species that prevent these native plants from thriving. Overall, more native species and less invasive ones spell more climate resilience and sustainability for island ecosystems and communities.

Calling on state and non-state actors alike, IPBES’ report makes a compelling case for collaboration to manage, remove, and eradicate invasive species. By showing how invasive species threaten both people and nature, the report shows how removing them is key to good stewardship and sustainable development.